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Zombie Chef Costume

zombie chef costume

This is a costume used in the Toronto Zombie Walk. We dressed as zombie chefs. I made up a batch of hats and everyone scrounged up white aprons. Copious amounts of blood and zombie make up completed the zombie chef look. Various zombie appetizers and finger foods were also made.

Last year for Halloween I went as a Zombie Garden Gnome, It was a great success. Nick went as a zombie cowboy.

We headed into the zombie kitchen to whip up some finger foods.

zombie chef costume

The plate attracted as much attention as the costume and it looked suitably lurid. All dollar store goods. I had improved the eyeballs by covering them with white glue and toilet paper to give them texture. I then repainted the pupils and bloody backs. The fingers and spiders were just glued on using hot glue. The brains got a coat of acrylic paint slightly rubbed off. The greenery is a plastic Christmas wreath I hot glued onto a old plastic plate I had around. It was a great success.

Make up for Zombie Chef Costume

zombie chef make up

The mustache goes on with spirit gum. All day people called me Sir! There is a white base on the whole face applied not terribly evenly. This year I was trying an asymmetrical face with a decomposing wound on the right and a bit of a skeleton theme on my left. The black grease paint was useful to outline and delineate the jaw and teeth. I also used black around the eye sockets and nose.

I think the red around the eyes is also very effective. Although it does not show here I had a line of black under the jaw. It helped make the head sort of float.

After the make up is on I powdered everything with face powder to set things. This keeps the make up from smudging too much.


zombie chef costume

This side shows the wound. It is made up of latex painted on the face and covered with latex covered toilet paper pieces. I just built this up on the face. The whole make up only took about an hour. It is not all that elaborate. The latex was coloured with various combinations of pink and red grease paint then touched up with yellow and finally I put blue and black in the deeper parts using a small brush. It looked very real. it's much cheaper to get liquid latex and make up your own scars than to buy ready made scars. Don't forget to put paint on your neck and hands otherwise it looks odd.


latex scar

Here is a detail of the scar/wound. It is built up of a layer of latex, then several layers of ripped pieces of toilet paper to give it texture. I used a hair dryer at low setting to dry the latex faster. I built up the toilet paper till it looked ok. The sides of the gash are about 3/16 inch high, so quite high. The photos is lit too brightly to see the texture clearly. I could have made a whole face one big prosthesis but I was feeling moderate. It's more comfortable too. I've cleaned off much of the paint on the scar. It was much brighter on the face.


This kind of scar or wound is very easy to make. You will need
some liquid latex
some tissue paper or toilet paper
a cheap paint brush.

Start by deciding where you want your wound and put a layer of latex over the area you have chosen, let it harden a bit.

Having a fan or a hair dryer on low speeds up the process. Build up the wound with latex and bits of toilet paper or tissue soaked in latex. Once you are satisfied blow dry the wound. It's best to gradually dry the latex rather than have a big lump of latex that takes forever to dry.

It is also possible to make the wound on a base and apply it later. In that case choose a base that is a bit curved and oil it very lightly. Use some talcum powder or corn starch to powder it before removing it from the base otherwise it will be very sticky even though the latex is dry.

After the wound is dry, you can start putting make up on your face. Go to the dollar store and get a packet of cheap grease Halloween make up. Use a cheap paintbrush to paint the details of the wound.

A word of caution. Some people are allergic to latex. If you plan to use latex on yourself or anyone else do a test patch first to make sure it is not irritating.


At this point you could and probably add lots of blood on the chin and lower lip. I think that would work very well. I did not but it would have been right in the spirit of Zombies snacking on brains.

Since fake blood sort of stays liquid and sticky (since it is mainly made up of corn syrup and food colouring) I did not feel like having a sticky face most of the day and a good part into the evening. I guess I'm not willing to suffer to look good!

Details of the Zombie Chef Costume


I had picked up an old white sheet from value village and used that to make chef's hats for the other 6 members of my group. I also had enough to make aprons for myself and Nick. Mine was a bib apron. Nick's was a regular one. Lots of blood. A pocket is useful to keep a few essentials.

I looked for white pants but there were none. I used the same pants I had for the zombie garden gnome costume. I had old white runners that got covered in blood. The shirt is a regular heavy white man's shirt with only the stand up part of the collar left. I just cut the collar off at the seam. It worked well.

The hat is the real detail that defines the costume. I have a page link at the top on how to make chef's hats.


nick as a zombie chef

Nick's Zombie Chef Costume

Nick dressed as a zombie chef with a high hat, rubber chicken and white shirt complete with severed hand in the pocket.

The rubber chicken and plastic knife are the accessories he chose. His apron is tied at the waist and suitably bloodied.

His face has a covering of white base with black added around the eyes and cheekbones. Some yellow and blue give him that lovely zombie bruised look. A nose bleed complete the ensemble.

Nick darkened his eyebrows and beard to make a goatee. Somehow it really works.

He had great fun gluing fingers to the inside of his pocket and eyeballs on his apron to make a frowning face.


email me if you have questions or find mistakes, I'll fix them and we'll all benefit: Christine